On this day in music history: May 17, 1965 – &…

On this day in music history: May 17, 1965 – “Maiden Voyage”, the fifth studio album by Herbie Hancock is released. Produced by Alfred Lion, it is recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ on March 17, 1965. Issued as the follow up to the classic “Empyrean Isles”, the album is completed in just one day, at legendary recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s studio. All five tracks are composed by Hancock, and follow a unifying theme related to the sea and marine biology. The album features the then twenty five year old jazz piano virtuoso along side musicians Ron Carter (bass), Tony Williams (drums), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet) (who are also members of Miles Davis’ band with Hancock at the time), and George Coleman (tenor saxophone). The songs “Dolphin Dance”, “Eye Of The Hurricane” and the title track all become jazz standards and among Hancock’s best known material. Herbie re-records “Dolphin Dance” and “Maiden Voyage” during the 70’s and 80’s on various studio and live recordings. “Maiden Voyage” is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1999. Reissued multiple times since making its CD debut in 1986, it has most recently been remastered and reissued as an SACD in Japan in 2017. “Voyage” is also released as a limited edition two LP set, pressed on 200 gram vinyl, and mastered at 45 RPM by Analogue Productions in 2010. The label also releases the title as a hybrid SACD in 2011.